Dons finish fourth at WCC Championships

Saturday, November 1

Baylands Park; Sunnyvale, Calif.

10:00 a.m.

University of San Francisco

WCC Championships

Jose Madera placed ninth at the WCC Championships.

Photo by: David Bush

11/1/2014 3:59:00 PM | Cross Country

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WCC Championship Results

Competing in a field consisting of some of the best runners in the country, Jose Madera and Eric Causey led the Dons to a fourth-place finish at the West Coast Conference Championships on Saturday at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale.

Madera and Causey, who have consistently been among the top finishers in every race they've competed in this season, ran at the front of a large lead pack through the first four splits of the 8,000-meter race.

But approaching the fifth split, the pack began the thin. Madera, a senior, was the first Don to cross the finish line, placing ninth place in 23:36.3. Causey followed closely behind, finishing in 11th place in 23:39.1.

"The men's race was densely packed up front for the majority of the race and both Jose and Eric managed themselves according to the race plan," said head coach Helen Lehman-Winters. "They just did not have the ability to drive hard to the finish the last kilometer. Both feel that they have more in the tank and will definitely need to use it to qualify for the NCAA Championships."

Senior Jarrett Moore was the next Don across the finish line, placing 37th in 24:43.9. Nick Hicks (24:48.0) and Mohamed Aziz (24:49.2) crossed the finish line shortly behind Moore, finishing 39th and 40th. Thomas Bradley finished in 43rd place, with a time of 25:00.6.

"We came up short in accomplishing our team goal so we certainly have room for improvement," Lehman-Winters said. "Our pack ran aggressively early in the race but needed to do a better job of working as a unit deeper into the race."

Portland and BYU battled for the top spot on Saturday. Portland narrowly took first place overall with 28 points, while BYU came in second with 31 points. Gonzaga rounded out the top-three with 109 points. David Perry, of Portland, took first place individually, with a time of 23:25.4.